Language Study: Babies Learn Better with Others

 

A new study has found that young babies learning languages through video materials do better with other babies around than they do alone.

The study confirms earlier studies that found a child’s learning can be greatly improved when it happens together with another child.

The study was published earlier this month in the Proceedings¹ of the National Academy of Sciences. It included United States-based researchers from the University of Connecticut and the University of Washington.

In general, very young children are able to learn languages much faster than older children or adults. But researchers say there are still many unanswered questions for why this happens.

In the new study, researchers wanted to build on earlier studies that looked at the effectiveness of using video material in language learning for very young children. Past research has shown that a young child’s learning level using video is very low compared to language spoken in a live presentation by humans.

One of the earlier studies measured the progress of 9-month-old children who listened to Mandarin² Chinese during a series of visits to a learning laboratory.

The children heard the language presented in three different ways. Some received a live social presentation. Others watched a video recording³ of the live social presentation. A third group listened to an audio-only recording of the live presentation.

The study measured the ability of the children to recognize differences in Mandarin speech sounds that they heard. The children who listened to recorded Mandarin did not experience the same learning progress as those who received a live social presentation.

Those results suggested that the language-learning process “does not require long-term listening and is enhanced by social interaction,” the study stated.

In the new study, researchers wanted to see if language learning through video would be improved if the child went through the process with another child instead of by themselves. The experiment involved 9-month-old children who listened to Mandarin-language videos.

This time, the children were permitted to interact with a video screen. The children could touch different parts of the screen to control the presentation of Mandarin video clips they saw. The researchers noted⁴ that the babies were “quick to learn” that touching⁵ the screen would activate⁶ a video.

The researchers watched the children for signs of behavioral and brain reactions to measure their skill level of processing language sounds.

They reported finding brain-based evidence that clearly showed a higher level of language learning among the children who took part in the experiment with another child. In addition, the study found that putting the children together with new, unfamiliar⁷ partners led to even higher learning results.

Patricia Kuhl co-led the study. She is a professor at the University of Washington and heads the Bezos Family Foundation for Early Childhood Learning. She told Science Daily that the study demonstrates the importance of working with a social partner to improve language learning.

Working with others - even at such a young age - “increases arousal,” which in turn leads to increased learning, Kuhl said. “Social partners not only provide information by showing us how to do things, but also provide motivation for learning," she added.

The researchers said the results show that the increased learning only appeared related to the social interaction between children.

They did not find clear links between higher learning levels and the amount of viewing time or number of videos watched. Learning improvement was also not directly affected⁸ by how many times the screen was touched or how much movement ability a child had, the study found.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

enhance – v. to improve something

interaction – n. the activity of talking or doing things with other people

screen – n. front-facing part of an electronic device

unfamiliar – adj. not known to you

arousal – n. making someone have a particular feeling or reaction

motivation – n. the enthusiasm, need or reason for doing something

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

6 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

7 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。